The STC girls tennis team hosted Marion on Tuesday, April 22 at the South Tama High School Tennis Complex. By the end of the night, the Trojans had secured a key win by defeating the Wolves by a score of 6-3.

STC grabbed four of six singles matches to take control of the meet early. In #1 singles, Trojan senior Hannah Houghton jumped out to a 3-2 lead against Marion’s Kailey Olsen. However, Olsen nabbed the next four games to lead 6-3. But Houghton refused to lose and ran off the final five games to post the 8-6 victory.

STC senior Nevaeh Mathes stepped up to the #2 singles spot and faced Marion’s Sam Norton. After leading 3-2, Mathes ran off five straight games to win 8-2. In #3 singles, Trojan senior Kylie Husak held a slim lead throughout her match with Macie Johnson. But Husak won four of the final six games to secure the 8-5 victory. Sophomore Madyson Boriskey recorded her first varsity singles win of her career at #5 singles when she defeated Ella Jurrgens, 8-5.

In #6 singles, STC senior Cailey Brown came up just short against Marion’s Kennedy Barnhart. Brown staged a comeback after trailing 2-5 but ran out of time in a close 6-8 defeat. Trojan sophomore Grace Gomez dropped a 1-8 loss to Allie Spencer at #4 singles.

As the Trojans entered doubles play, they needed to earn one win to secure the meet victory. Instead of one, they grabbed two from their #1 and #2 teams. The #1 team of Houghton and Boriskey grabbed five of the final six games to get the 8-3 win over Marion’s Olsen/Fitch. STC’s #2 team of Mathes and Husak made sure to get in on the winning as they defeated the Wolves’ Spencer/Juergens by a score of 8-6.

In other doubles action, STC senior Mikayla Large and sophomore Karsyn Wolf made their varsity debut as they stepped in as the #3 team. Despite falling 2-8 to Marion’s Johnson/Vanpelt, the duo gained valuable experience for their future.

After the meet, Trojan head coach Steve Bearden reflected on the night.

“I’m proud of this team. They are finally starting to believe in themselves. They continue to work hard in practice and I see their progress. We have faced some adversity with injury and illness, but tonight everyone showed up and focused on getting this win,” he said.

The STC Junior Varsity team also took a 6-3 win against the Wolves. The Trojans posted wins by the doubles teams of Karsyn Wolf/Delia Yepez, Delayna Bear/Presley Vest (2 wins), Kinley Jimenez/Aurora Kriegel Querry (2 wins), and Grace Gomez/Delia Yepez.

Up next for the Trojans is a trip to Boone to face the Toreadors on Friday, May 2. This will be followed by their WaMaC conference meet on Tuesday, May 6 in Independence.